To be soooo irritated by step kids new accent?

[wishingonastar9]

I know I'm going to offend some people here but I'm just being honest...
My step kids (8 & 10) have recently moved to Liverpool and within weeks DSS8 has developed a full on scouse accent and I'm finding it sooooo bloody irritating!!
DSD10 isn't so bad, she just says the odd word with a bit of a twang, I can cope with that but I'm sure DSS is 'putting it on' possibly just to annoy us, surely it's not really possible to completely change accents within such a short space of time?

What I find most annoying is that DSS has even changed the words and terminology he uses.
Sometimes it even seems that he says certain things on purpose just so he can say it the scouse way.
It's not just the accent it's the way they don't say a lot of words properly, eg instead of saying ''something'' DSS now says something that sounds like ''sut'en''.

They stay with us during most school holidays so so far I've had over a week of it constantly and I want to scream...I hate it!

Admittedly I am pregnant, hormonal, stressed and very tired after running around after 4 kids for 1&1/2 weeks so I know I am more irritable than normal.
But when I look ahead 10 years down the line, I just can't imagine that there will ever be a day that I won't be annoyed by it.

And before anybody questions my own accent...I don't have much of one...yes people can probably tell what region I live in from speaking to me but it's not a strong accent. And I say words as they should be said.

YABVVVU

I moved from Lancashire to the south west when I was 9, I had a thick lancashire accent, within 2 weeks I spoke "queens English" as that is what the local kids spoke.

Picking up accents is actually a great life skill, I moved to Sweden 3 years ago, within months I spoke Swedish with a near perfect Swedish accent, people often don't realise I am not Swedish (until I make stupid past tense mistakes).

I would much prefere to take the positives and live with the negatives (anoying your step mum doesn't seem like such a negative when you consider how highly strung you are!).

His accent doesn't change the person he is, it doesn't make what he says more or less valid or interesting. I think that you should work on accepting people for who they are rather than what they sound like, you owe it to your children and your step children to show them how to be accepting.

Ha ha ha! Total scallies. OP, outside!

Yawn. Not an aibu because you aren't interested in the answer.

Bless them, they move to a strange place and presumably want to fit in. Then they come to visit their dad and step mum and the very act of speaking seems to annoy her.

If I were them I'd be feeling pretty overwhelmed, confused and lost right now. They're still quite young.

YANBU
Scouse accents are horrible.
I know because I was forced to live there for seven years. That was 6 years 364 days too long.

I'm from the states, so is my oldest son. We moved to Liverpool about 4 years ago. I wasn't sure how he would end up, kids can be cruel if you are a bit different. True to form the poor kid got bullied a bit for his yank accent, however he's learned that if he uses the slang and adds a bit of scouse the kids don't pick him up on it as much. It is funny to hear him say "chicken" in scouse. Maybe your SS is just trying not to be bullied and fit in like mine. Don't hold it against him and don't make him feel like he's uneducated for using an accent. My DH is "posh scouse" I guess, his accent isn't as thick but if it were it wouldn't make him scally.

Try not to let it bother you- I hope I don't annoy everyone with my "Hey Guys!! What's up??" and my "Have a nice day!!" You can take the girl out of America but you can't take the America out of the girl.

Kids pick up accents super fast. DS currently sounds like Evan from Evantube, last summer he spoke English with a Belgian accent because his playmate on holiday was Belgian.

As it is I'm enjoying the thought he sounds like an extreme Harry Enfield character, but the sad reality is you're overlooking the fact that a little boy has been uprooted and is trying to adapt to fit in.

Yabu and rude .

As your update stated, it's that they're not saying words correctly, not the accent itself, that annoys you. You are perfectly entitled to ask that "slang" words not be used in your house.

That said... I'm an immigrant. I live in the US now and was often "corrected" to the "proper" word (boot/trunk, bonnet/hood, sauce/ketchup etc) and I found it very hurtful and it made me angry.

You could just tell them that while you find their accent adorable they know the word is "something" and should use it around you. With their friends they can speak however they like. That's how I feel about "cuss words" as well.

If they've only just moved over though, and you're pregnant and hormonal, it might be best to hold it in for now and speak to them when they're a little older.

And I say words as they should be said.

Which is how exactly? The way people in the south of England pronounce them? A southern English accent is a regional dialect too, you know. I personally find a southern English accent irritating to listen to, for example. My nephews live in the south of England and have completely English accents, even though their parents are Scottish, and DH and I think they sound awful. I would not say that they speak incorrectly, however, just in a way that irritates me personally.

Each to his own. If you don't like a Scouse accent, fine, but it's a matter of personal taste. There is nothing inherently 'wrong' about the way words are pronounced outside of the small part of England you live in.

YABU, he's probably just trying to fit in.

I must admit that I think the scouse accent sounds as rough as a dog's arse. But then I'm from Birkenhead so am well posh.

WestieMamma

YABU, and it will get stronger so you need to get used to it. He's only a child trying to adapt.

I love the scouse accent.

I don't think YABU OP if what you are saying is that this particular accent grates with you.

Omg. What will the neighbours say?! What if they think he has caught Northern?!!!!

Op, there is a help group you could try www.getagrip.com

And I say words as they should be said

That's interesting. Considering, as someone with an English accent, you probably don't pronounce the 'r' on the end of words like 'door,' to me, as Scottish person, that's all wrong. If I did that I'd sound very strange, even if you believe it's the right way.

There is no 'right way.'

My DD moved to Liverpool with her job. She has developed an accent although she cannot hear it. I don't love her any less for it. He is a child, trying to adapt and fit in. YABU.

Poor kid. He may just be trying to fit in or he could just be very suggestible and has picked it up naturally.

When I went to uni (South of England) I came home with a Yorkshire accent as two of my best friends were northern. My parents thought it was funny and it didn't stick, but it certainly wasn't something conscious, it just happened from spending lots of time talking to people.

Poor kids. They are just trying to fit in OP, give them a break.

We moved from Lancashire to 'down south' when my DD was 19 months. We moved back when she was 10. She changed her southern accent to northern on a week or so, to fit in that's all.

*in a week not on, sorry.

I love the scouse accent! I live on the Wirral so there is an accent but not a proper one it's just similar i suppose. When we moved up here from London DD who was 4 practiced her Birkenhead accent her granny who's from the NE was horrified. She's almost as snobby as you OP.

Didn't see it as a big deal myself. Children want to be like other children and fit in. fwiw DD has mostly kept her London accent in the end but does go up randomly in sentences.

Kids that age often pick up accents very quickly.